Via the AP: Runaway Bride May Face Charges in Georgia.
Indeed, one wonders under what circumstances that she wouldn’t. Clearly she caused a great deal of expense to the public:
Porter said Wilbanks could face a misdemeanor charge of false report of a crime or a felony charge of false statements. The misdemeanor carries a penalty of up to a year in jail; five years in prison is the maximum sentence for the felony.
I’m not really up to speed on all the particulars of the case, but it seems to me that she should be responsible for any expenses accrued after SHE reported herself kidnapped, but not before that. She had the right to run off and leave her groom. Anything spent between the time her fiance reported her missing and the time she reported herself kidnapped should just be the normal responsibility of the police department.
She should be charged for her own false statement, however.
Comment by Jan — Monday, May 2, 2024 @ 8:01 am
I tried to post this before and it didn’t post so I’ll try again.
I think she should be charged for her false report but I don’t think she should be held responsible for the whole manhunt. She should have the right to run off and is not legally required to notify anyone. It seems to me that anything spent on the search between the time her fiance reported her missing and the time she called and reported herself kidnapped should not necessarily be her responsibility to repay.
Comment by Jan — Monday, May 2, 2024 @ 8:24 am
Since when is it against the law for an adult woman to leave town without notifying her parents or boyfriend? The “great expense” she “caused” had nothing to do with the story she told the Albuquerque police (since the search ended as soon as she was found in New Mexico), and is therefore entirely irrelevant to the question of criminal charges.
So here’s what we have. A woman got cold feet about getting married (legal), left town on a bus (legal), went to Vegas and Albuquerque (legal), and then briefly lied to police, presumably out of embarrassment at having unwittingly and unwillingly become a national news story (illegal, but understandable). When she went missing, the family overreacted (understandable), the police did likewise (also understandable, given the pressure generated by the cable TV networks), and time and money was spent on a fruitless search (probably more time and money than should have been spent given the circumstances–bride flees prior to wedding–but nobody’s fault in the legal sense).
Thus, it comes down to this: do we really want to criminalize the stupid, but brief choice of a scared, distraught woman, who suddenly faced more pressure than she ever had in her life? Do we? Really?
Comment by X — Monday, May 2, 2024 @ 8:43 am
It is against the law to call 911 and act like you are kidnapped. That’s the crime. Running away from your wedding, that’s a personal problem. Making the authorities think you have been kidnapped is problematic.
The 911 call is the problem, legally speaking, X, not the cold feet problem.
And Jan: for some reason it went into the moderation list.
Comment by Steven Taylor — Monday, May 2, 2024 @ 8:54 am
And btw Jan: I concur.
Comment by Steven Taylor — Monday, May 2, 2024 @ 8:55 am
Yep, you’re right, under enormous pressure she did something stupid and illegal. But taken in context, it is certainly understandable. Not every crime has to be charged, even if authorities are ticked off and a little embarrassed that they spent money and time on a wild goose chase.
Here’s what an Albuquerque police spokesperson said:
“We don’t have to charge everybody,” said Albuquerque police spokeswoman Trish Ahrensfield. “We have discretion. We are human beings. We have feelings and we are professional at the same time.”
(http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7692019/)
I think she sounds exactly the right note, and I hope that pressure from the cable TV outrage squad doesn’t cause the Albuquerque cops to cave in and bring charges. As for the authorities in Georgia, they could benefit from the wisdom and compassion of their New Mexico counterparts.
Comment by X — Monday, May 2, 2024 @ 9:29 am
Just as easily as she picked up the phone and said she was kidnapped, she could have picked up the phone and said “I’m okay, call off the manhunt, I just left town to get some space” or something like that. Up until that point she had committed no crime. It’s just like a child who is afraid to tell the truth and gets in more trouble because of the lie.
Plus, if nothing is done to her, it may give other people the idea to do something similar just for the attention. I’m not saying she should get the maximum punishment, but something should be done.
Comment by Jan — Monday, May 2, 2024 @ 1:57 pm